Don’t Go Alone Into Chemo – Bring Cannabis With You

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Cancer therapy and cannabis are a well accepted match in medicine. These are the ways that cannabis can help manage the side effects of chemotherapy.

Chances are that most people reading this article know someone who has been affected by cancer. That means you also know that while medical advances have offered many more treatment options, the symptoms of the cancer therapy can still be debilitating.

Cannabis reform is slowly but surely gaining traction, with 33 states legalizing medicinal cannabis. Illinois’s recent legalization makes 11 states with fully legal recreational consumption. And cancer is one of the major reasons that cannabis legalization is receiving such a groundswell of support. Cannabis has the potential to support conventional cancer therapies by managing a range of symptoms.

How Can Cannabis Support Traditional Cancer Therapies?

Chemotherapy and radiation are the most common cancer therapies. Though these offer the promise of a cure for many, the side effects of treatments can be extremely difficult to manage. There is evidence that cannabis may help to ease some of these side effects as a supplementary medicine.

THC Helps Stop Nausea and Increase Appetite

Nausea and vomiting are common side effects from cancer treatments. Around one-half of cancer patients will experience nausea or vomiting, otherwise known as emesis.

Studies have shown that cannabis and THC products may produce an antiemetic effect, reducing nausea and vomiting. One study concluded that patients found cannabis to be slightly more effective than conventional nausea medication.

Cannabinoid interaction with the 5-hydroxytryptamine 3 (5-HT3) receptor appears to hinder nausea, as its activation seems to play a dominant role in nausea onset. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons have CB1 and 5-HT3 receptors, where they have the opposite effect on GABA release.

GABA is an amino acid that works as a neurotransmitter in the brain and may induce nausea. So when cannabinoids activate the CB1 receptor, these may neutralize 5-Ht3 activation that causes nausea and vomiting. Cannabinoids may also directly inhibit 5-HT3 gated ion currents through other cannabinoid receptors. This stops 5-HT3 from affecting GABA release.

Cancer Pain is Effectively Managed by Cannabis

Unfortunately, pain and cancer therapy tend to go hand in hand. Aside from pain caused by the cancer itself, medical tests, including injections, bone marrow aspiration, or surgery can all result in pain for patients. As can radiation and chemotherapy. However, studies show cannabis may provide pain relief to cancer patients through a variety of mechanisms.

One study concluded that when the CB1 receptor was blocked, an enhanced pain response occurred. Another reported that CB1 and CB2 receptor activators were comparable to the effect of morphine in a tumor pain model.

Much like opioid receptors, brain regions that regulate pain perception hold CB1 receptors. Interestingly, it has been found that cannabinoids may also work to increase the painkilling abilities of opioids.

Cannabis Battles Appetite Loss

Many cancer therapy patients experience appetite loss. Chemotherapy and radiation can change the way food tastes, making it less appealing. Nausea, vomiting, fatigue, anxiety, and mouth pain are all common symptoms of cancer therapies and may also result in appetite loss.

The endocannabinoid system helps regulate eating behavior. Studies have shown the ability of THC to increase appetite and improve weight gain/maintenance. CB1 blockers result in the typical feeding increase seen after blocking of cannabinoid introduction.

The lateral hypothalamus contains CB1 receptors. There these are present in orexin- and melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) containing neurons. These neurons project to dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area where they then modulate the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway involved in food reward. So, activation of the CB1 receptor may excite MCH neurons, resulting in increased appetite through the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway.

GABAergic neurons also block MCH neurons (which may increase nausea), but activation of the CB1 receptors on GABAergic interneurons can reverse this, resulting in increased appetite.

Insomnia Solved by THC

Cancer patients often find they have trouble sleeping. Cancer therapy can cause pain, nausea, night sweats, and anxiety that can all contribute to insomnia.

Studies have shown that the endocannabinoid system may play a crucial role in the modulation of the sleep-wake cycle and the regulation of mood. One study found that 15mg of THC had a sedative effect, increasing sleep activity. An animal study involving mice also found that the CB1 receptor was found in the pons area of the brainstem. The light/dark cycle modulates activation of CB1. This suggests that CB1 activation plays a prominent role in inducing sleep.

The fatty acid oleamide stops the gap junction-mediated cell-cell communication modulation that inhibits the GABA receptor. GABA is a neurotransmitter that has been found to enhance the production of melatonin, an important hormone that helps maintain circadian rhythms and induce sleep. Cannabis may further play a role in aiding sleep as the endocannabinoid system may induce GABA enhancing oleamide.

Overall, the research shows that cannabis holds great potential as a therapeutic tool. It could help to reduce some of the debilitating effects of cancer therapy.

Philip Ghezelbash

Philip Ghezelbash is an ex-personal trainer with a science background who currently operates New Zealand's only health specialized writing studio. He is passionate about presenting complex science in an easy to digest manner and is a firm believer that cannabis has substantial potential to be used as a medicine for degenerative disease.